We talked to Mostafa Afzalzadeh from Tehran about what the current protests in Iran are about and where they are going. Mostafa has been an independent journalist in Iran for 15 years and a documentary filmmaker. One of his documentaries is Manufacturing Dissent, about the US, UK and their western and Gulf State allies that launched a covert war in Syria in early 2011, dressed up by the media as a “revolution,” to remove Assad from power and the role of western media in creating support for the war. Mostafa said the US has been trying to change the Iranian government since the 1979 Iranian revolution. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

In 2017, more people became activated for social justice. At the same time, white supremacist groups became more visible, marching with torches and chanting words of hatred. There were conflicts between people who disagreed over what tactics would be most effective in stopping the rise of white supremacy and fascism and achieving greater equality and justice. We speak with Rivera Sun about her novels, which use fiction to teach lessons of movement strategy, and about organizing for social change in our times. Her newest book is "The Roots of Resistance: Book Two of the Dandelion Trilogy" and it will be available in February. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The year 2017 has been another active year for people fighting on a wide range of fronts. The Trump administration has brought many issues that have existed for years out into the open where they are more difficult to deny – racism, colonialism, imperialism, capitalism and patriarchy and the crises they create. There will be a backlash against overreach by the power holders on a number of issues, including wealth inequality, health care, Internet freedom, militarization at home and abroad, mass incarceration, climate change and human rights abuses. This backlash provides an opportunity to organize a broader movement of movements and clarify our demands so that we are well-positioned to demand transformative policies. We discuss two of these areas today in greater depth: US imperialism and the fight against fossil fuel infrastructure. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

On December 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), lead by chairman Ajit Pai, voted to dismantle the hard-won net neutrality rules, going against widespread public support for those rules. The public organized in a massive effort to stop the vote, and now organizations, states and people are taking action to revoke and challenge the FCC’s decision. This decision and the public activation around it provide an opportunity to build power not only to win net neutrality, but also to put laws and structures into place that go much farther to create the universal right to high quality, affordable Internet access and equality.

A new report released by Chuck Collins and Josh Hoxie of the Institute for Policy Studies, "Billionaire Bonanza 2017: The Forbes 400 and the Rest of Us," reveals that only 3 people in the US hold wealth equivalent to the bottom 50% of the population, about 160 million people. The wealth divide is getting more severe every year. Just 7 years ago it was 400 people who owned wealth equivalent to the bottom 50%, now they own wealth equal to the bottom 64%, 204 million people. The numbers of people with zero wealth or who are in debt is also growing and is worse for black and Latinos than whites. We discuss the current wealth divide, what's behind it, how the new tax proposal will affect it and how to resolve it. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Two new divestment campaigns launched this year. One is the Divest from the War Machine campaign, led by CODEPINK and endorsed by more than 60 organizations, which is targeting weapons manufacturers. The other, Mazaska (Money) Talks, is an Indigenous-led campaign that began after Seattle divested from Wells Fargo for being a major investor in the Dakota Access Pipeline. Mazaska Talks is now a global campaign targeting Wall Street banks for the many harmful investments they make and promoting public banks as a positive alternative. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We discuss two of the many assaults on our communities by corporations that put their profits above the health and safety of people. The first is the re-negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by the Trump administration. Bill Waren of Friends of the Earth explains how this process is more secretive than the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. The corporations and Wall Street financiers are using the NAFTA negotiations to slip in the worst of the TPP and TTIP. Then Peggy Chase of the Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation describes how Nestle is taking public water in Michigan and other states and other efforts at water privatization. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

PBS is currently airing a ten-part documentary about the Vietnam War by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that is financed by the Koch Brothers and Bank of America and promoted by the Pentagon. We speak with Vietnam scholar, Professor Bob Buzzanco about the real history of the Vietnam War, what led to it and the opposition that developed. He emphasizes that it is important to understand this history so that we do not repeat it in North Korea or the Middle East. Then we speak with Vietnam Vet, David Ross, about his experiences in Vietnam and subsequently in organizing veterans to stop the war. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

With Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, wildfires and droughts fresh in our minds and threats of greater global aggression, we take a look at the connections between Empire, war, Indigenous rights and the environment. This week is the tenth anniversary of the official adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We speak with Gar Smith, editor of The War and the Environment Reader, about his new book and a conference he is organizing later this month with World Beyond War on the topic. Then we speak with Charmaine White Face, author of Indigenous Nations' Rights in the Balance, who participated in and protested the process used by the United Nation, about Indigenous sovereignty and her work to protect the Black Hills, a sacred site. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

White supremacist rallies and counter protests, especially the events in Charlottesville that led to the murder of Heather Heyer and many people injured, are bringing the issues of institutional racism and white supremacy to the forefront of our national dialogue. After years of efforts to remove confederate statues in Baltimore, protests brought about their swift removal in the night. A Columbus monument was also protested. Sean Yoes explains what the monuments in Baltimore symbolize and efforts to remove them. Dedrick Asante-Muhammad speaks about the racial wealth divide and ways to bring greater equity. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.